Co-curricular activities are about finding a passion—not checking a box.
This was the message of the final panel of Pioneer Academics’ Co-Curricular Summit, titled Beyond the Checklist: The True Meaning of Co-Curricular Pursuits and Their Influence on College Admissions, where experts discussed the real value of co-curricular activities. The panel featured Mike Steidel, Dean of Admission Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, and two Pioneer alumni—Adam Song, a recent graduate of Imperial College London, and Ryan Dwyer, a junior at Cornell University. Hearing from Mike Steidel, one of the most experienced and respected voices in higher education, was truly an honor.
Steidel served in CMU’s undergraduate admissions for 45 years, becoming Dean of Admissions in 2016. Under his leadership, CMU saw its admissions numbers reach impressive new heights. In 10 years, the number of applicants to CMU nearly doubled, with an all-time high of more than 34,000 applicants in the most recent admissions cycle. He also played a significant role in recruiting more diverse and inclusive classes. Steidel’s strategic and enthusiastic leadership of CMU’s admissions allowed the university to attract some of the world’s most talented students.
Although retired, Steidel remains active in secondary and higher education. He continues to make impactful efforts to strengthen connections and empower underrepresented students, focusing solely on work that benefits the educational space and underrepresented student communities.
Together, they explored how co-curriculars can shape students’ personal growth and college prospects, challenging the common belief that these activities are merely a box to tick for college applications.
The Value of Reflection in Co-Curricular Pursuits
Mike Steidel emphasized that co-curricular activities are far from transactional. “It’s not just about accolades or accomplishments,” Steidel explained. “It’s about what you learn from participating and reflecting on your experiences.” He noted that these activities help students build crucial life skills such as teamwork, time management and problem-solving—skills that are just as valuable as academic achievements.
Steidel stressed that students often overlook the importance of reflection. Too many students “march into these activities thinking it’s more about ticking boxes,” he said. Instead, he urged students to ask themselves, “What am I learning about myself? How are my activities shaping my interests and my future goals?”
This reflective mindset not only helps students grow personally, but also makes their college applications more compelling. Admissions officers are more interested in how students have developed through their activities than in a list of accomplishments. “It’s about discovering who you are, not about following a formula,” Steidel emphasized.
Passion and Authenticity: The True Drivers of Success
Panelists Adam Song and Ryan Dwyer echoed Steidel’s advice. Both agreed that pursuing activities you’re genuinely passionate about is key. Ryan noted, “I just wanted to do things that I enjoyed doing, like classics, and I kept finding extracurriculars around that.” This allowed him to stay motivated and gain meaningful experiences, rather than focusing solely on how activities might look on his application.
Adam added that participating in co-curriculars can teach invaluable skills, but these lessons often become clear only in hindsight. Reflecting on his time playing rugby and doing research with Pioneer, he realized later that he had learned much more than he initially thought. “It’s when I started interacting with others who didn’t have those experiences that I saw the value—things like communication and leadership under pressure,” he shared.
Ultimately, both panelists agreed that passion should guide students’ choices—not the pressure to build a perfect application. Steidel agreed, pointing out that admissions officers value students who follow their interests, even if they haven’t yet found their true passion. “It’s an exploratory period,” Steidel said. “Don’t think you have to be accomplished to start; use this as a time to discover your passions.”
Moving Beyond the Checklist
The panel concluded with a powerful reminder: college admissions is about much more than checking off activities on a list. Co-curricular and extra-curricular pursuits should be driven by curiosity and passion, not by a desire to fit a certain mold. As Steidel put it, “The transformation, the growth, and the learning—these are the things that matter most.”
By embracing this mindset, students can not only lower their stress about admissions but also enjoy their high school years more fully. As they discover who they are and what excites them, they become stronger, more engaged learners—and ultimately, more compelling applicants.
00:00:10 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Okay, welcome.
Welcome everyone to the final panel of the Pioneer Academics Co-curricular Summit.
My name is Ryan Manley, and I’m the academic engagement manager in the department of Scholar success at Pioneer Academics, and I’ll be the moderator for this final panel today.
This final session promises to be as thought provoking and useful to the students in the audience as well as educators and counselors and parents. The title is Beyond the Checklist The True Meaning of Co-Curricular Pursuits and their Influence on College Admissions.
In this panel we will focus on dispelling an all too prevalent myth. You all know it that there is some secret formula or checklist which will unlock college admissions further in the minds of too many. There’s this idea that completing or achieving the right set of co-curricular activities or programs will improve your odds of college admission.
Unfortunately, this myth tends to lead to too many young people missing out on the real value of these co-curricular pursuits and activities. Our panel represents 2 very different perspectives on this topic.
00:01:27 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): We have with us a well-respected admission officer, as well as 2 alumni of the Pioneer Academics Research Institute, young researchers who were recently in a situation that many of you in the audience find yourselves in now. So let me introduce you to our panel.
First of all, let me introduce you to Mike Steidel, the Dean of Admission Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University. We also have Adam Song, who is a pioneer alumnus and he recently graduated from Imperial College, London, with his degree in engineering and finally, we also have Ryan Dwyer, who is also a pioneer alumnus, and he is a junior at Cornell University double majoring in Linguistics and Classics.
So I want to start the panel with a question for Mike. So for about a generation now researchers and journalists have noticed a dramatic shift in the way high school students think about the value of co-curricular pursuits of note. There’s been an enormous growth in the idea that these activities have transactional value.
00:02:35 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Participating in co-curricular educational pursuits is thought to aid the value of a college applicant’s resume or CV.
And it’s clear that accompanying this shift a view has emerged that there is some sort of formula or checklist which students need to complete in order to guarantee their admission into prestigious colleges and universities.
So what do you, as a former college admissions officer? Many years of experience in that sector. What do you think that the real value these co-curricular activities is.
00:03:09 Mike Steidel: Thanks, Ryan, you know it’s a great question. But I would definitely, you know, argue that the extracurricular opportunities that students may participate in are far from what we would consider to be transactional. I think, holistically it’s what you’re learning, not only in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom as well, and so extracurricular opportunities or co-curricular opportunities. Provide lots of opportunities to have fun to pursue interests to relax away from the pressures of schoolwork to learn how to work with others, to learn how to accomplish goals and learn time management skills.
You know, and ultimately to, you know, figure out how to solve real world problems. And so when you discover more about yourself and the world around you, you’re really participating in a learning experience that’s happening not just in the classroom, but outside of the classroom as well. So activity, at least in the this context is more than just a set of accolades or accomplishments. But it’s really what you learn from your participation and experience that really makes the difference.
00:04:34 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Could you say a little bit more about what kind of learning you have in mind, especially with these co-curricular, extracurricular activities? Is it different than the kind of learning say, involved in taking an AP Course or 12 AP courses.
00:04:50 Mike Steidel: Right, I think you know so often the learning comes with being reflective, and you know too often students march into this extracurricular or Co-curricular space thinking it’s more transactional if I just do the this set of activities, or if I achieve this level of participation, whether it be in leadership or you know, getting to a higher honors or awarded stage.
But really too often students don’t take the time to reflect on. What is, what am I learning about myself? What am I discovering about myself? You know. How are my activities? shaping my interests, and ultimately forming perhaps even an idea about who I want to be and where I want to go. And you know what kind of life I want to lead. And so this is an opportunity to test the waters and all of those areas. And quite frankly, I think it’s 1 of the really strong aspects of
American or US Higher education the fact that we play such value, not just in what goes on inside the classroom. But what happens outside of the classroom through these kinds of experiences, and they’re really set up with the meaning that you learn a lot about yourself, and it’ll provide opportunities to really reflect and shape.
00:06:26 Mike Steidel: You know who you are and the direction that you want to want to go in. So I find that, you know this is perhaps most interesting part of, you know a student’s application to college. You know the academics speak for themselves, but the direction that students take outside of the classroom can really vary. And I love learning about students in this space.
Because they’re all different. And this is where the uniqueness of a student can really shine.
00:07:01 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): yeah, I love this. It’s almost classical.
The value lies in learning who you are and becoming who you are at a time in your life when development is your entire job. But I do want to sort of look at the other side of it as well. Right? If even if this is the true value. Even if there is no checklist. Student stress about admissions is a practical reality, right? It is enormously competitive and very difficult to get into the university that you want to get into. And so how can students both maximize the learning in these co-curricular pursuits, and also lower their stress about admissions at the same time.
00:07:50 Mike Steidel: Well, I that’s a good question. I think you know, keeping it all in perspective is really important. You know, college admission really is always, you know, revolves around 3 distinct components. There’s a personal component. There’s an institutional component. And there’s a contextual component. And so you know, the personal aspect of you know, the admission process is essentially discovering who the student is, both inside the classroom and outside the classroom, you know, and that be, that becomes a reveal in terms of a student’s talents and abilities and interests and goals and motivation.
All of that is something that we love to discover but admission decisions are also institutional as well. Institutions have priorities, and certainly those priorities come down and trickle down into the college admission process through institutional values and how that translates into you know what we value in in admission. And so for some, it’s, it’s specific talents for some. For some it’s specific interests or goals.
00:09:04 Mike Steidel: It might be athletic pursuits for some colleges and universities, and so institutional value has some place in the admission process, and oftentimes it’s not easily discovered or seen by the student. But it’s certainly very real. Excuse me, and very prevalent in the in the process.
And then the 3rd is contextual. And by that, I mean, it’s really important to understand the background and the environment from which a student comes from because not all experiences and learning situations are the same. And so it’s really important to understand the nuances of each candidate, and then evaluate accordingly. And so not everyone has, you know, a full complement of athletic programs, for example, not. Every school offers a wide ranging selection of activities. Some students are limited by the fact that they’ve got long commutes, or perhaps there’s some expectation at home to do chores, or perhaps to work or take care of siblings. But all of those are still learning experiences as well outside of the classroom. And so I do think that you know it’s not about checklists.
It is about understanding who a student is, what their talents and abilities and interests are. Their goals and motivation in light of institutional goals and understanding the context within which students can make choices, not just academically, but also extracurricular as well.
00:10:52 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): yeah, I’m sure that. There’s a number of international attendees here in the audience today, who will appreciate this point about context. Because, as you had mentioned earlier. Co-curricular activities mean one thing in Western education systems, and that may not be a shared universal value.
I think also, the parents in the audience will appreciate that the learning that comes from doing your chores is just as valuable as the learning you’ll get from co-curricular. So thanks, Mike. I do want to now turn it to our pioneer alumni to see if we can get more of a student perspective on these questions about the value of co-curriculars. So, Adam, Ryan, I’d like to hear from you both.
00:11:41 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): When you were in high school not all that long ago and applying to pioneer or maybe doing other extracurricular activities. And how did you think about the value of those activities at the time and in the years since, as you’ve gotten accepted into college and changed and developed and transformed, has your perspective shifted at all? And, Adam, I’ll start with you.
00:12:09 Adam (Pioneer Academics): Yeah, I think when I was in high school, I had a very service level understanding of why these, you know, co-curricular, extracurricular activities add value to my life, you know. For example, I was on the Rugby team, and all I thought is, oh, it’s just another way to stay active or something right? I get to play the sport I like with my friends.
When I was doing Pioneer, I thought, Oh, I get to do this research. And I get to look into these interesting topics. But it was when I started interacting with other people who maybe hadn’t gotten the opportunity to do those experiences I thought about where I had picked up some of the skills that I had kind of not internalized. But I had built up over time was when I realized, oh, when I was on the Rugby team. That’s where I learned a lot of communication skills and learned to, you know, stand up for myself and take charge when I needed to. Sometimes, especially in the heat of the moment, under stress.
00:12:56 Adam (Pioneer Academics): I was doing Pioneer, and I put myself through a rigorous program. And I, you know, learned those skills to read and write academic papers. When I was doing those tasks with my colleagues, you know, it became way easier, and I I felt like I had a leg up on them. And so I think I really liked what you said, Mike, about reflection right? Because I think that’s such a huge component of what you learn from these activities, right? Just because you maybe went through the motions. If you don’t stop to think about what you’re actually doing, what you’re getting out of it. I think you don’t get as much out of it. There’s so much more to be gained from reflecting on the actual experience that you’ve had, and how that may have changed you as you’ve gone through it.
00:13:38 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): How about you, Ryan?
00:13:40 Ryan Dwyer (Pioneer Academics): Yeah. So, the point that I’m going to emphasize is one that’s already been made already is a lot about that introspection I like in high school when I was thinking of co-curriculars, and I was thinking of things to do is I just wanted to do things that I enjoyed doing. I’m a classics, and linguistics. Major classics is the study of ancient Greece and ancient Rome. I got that in. I got that in high school, and so I just kept doing extra extracurriculars around that that I enjoyed, and then that allowed me to do different experiences, and so really sort of having that moment of introspection, taking a second sort of slowing down. Why do I want to do these things? What are the things that I’m looking to gain out of them. That was the same thing for me, and coming into Pioneer at Pioneer, I knew I knew research was in my future, one way or another, whether it’s something I wanted to do in college.
I had to do a couple of researches projects in high school. So it’s like, I think, that this is going to be good to sort of bolster and work on some of those skills. And so, I’ll also piggyback on what Adam said, when you get to college, and then you’re in some of these scenarios. And you realize, oh, yeah, that thing that I did, or that camp that I did back when I was a sophomore or this scenario, this these interpersonal dynamics, when I was on the baseball team. I’ve been on this before, and I’m able to navigate those scenarios. And so it’s something I think you can that should help to guide what activities and what curriculars you do in high school, and then you get to college. And you kind of get to look back on those years. And you’ll be like, yeah, this really did help me out in ways that you don’t really think of until you’re in those scenarios.
00:15:16 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Yeah. One thing that you said Ryan, actually, is similar to a question that we received in the chat. So I’ll ask it now. So Ryan, in the chat says that the co-curriculars that they pursue are things that they are very passionate about. And Ryan said that you know he kind of used as a guide. The things that he enjoyed were the things that he pursued.
Mike, do you think that passion and enjoyment are good enough measures like. Are those the right guides to follow if you are in the eyes of admissions officers.
00:15:58 Mike Steidel: They’re great measures. And in fact, really, you know, essentially, you know, I think oftentimes interests lead to passion, and so don’t be disappointed that you don’t feel passionate about anything at the moment. This can be an exploratory period as well.
And so you want to look at your co-curricular opportunities and experiences as a way to explore, and you know it might uncover an aspect about you that you may not have even known about yourself that you could really like or be good at either a sport, or perhaps something in the arts, or maybe it’s in music. But, you ought not think you’ve got to be accomplished to start the extracurricular pursuit. In fact, if anything, it’s just the reverse.
00:16:53 Mike Steidel: You’re using this as an opportunity to discover your passions, and to see where those interests might lead. And if it leads to passion, that’s great. If it doesn’t, at least you’ve learned something about yourself as well.
And so I think that passion as it develops is something that happens over time. Sometimes, you know, passions develop early, sometimes passions develop late. There’s no formula for it. But I think again, it’s what you uncover about yourself in this process that’s so meaningful. And so I really like what you, said Ryan, about, you know, having developed that passion and follow it, follow its lead. And I think that’s exactly what we’re looking for.
00:17:45 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Yeah, you mentioned accomplishments. And I think that’s you know, one thing that goes along with this. This myth of there being a checklist is the idea that accomplishments and achievements are the most important thing right? Getting awards, trophies, recognition. Do you think that there’s too much emphasis placed on these sort of things, Mike?
00:18:12 Mike Steidel: Personally. Yes, although I understand why. But that leads us back to the discussion about you know students seeing this as a transactional experience rather than a learning experience. And so you know what we value is how students learn how they grow from point A to point B, the journey. You know that the transformation that’s the important thing. It’s not necessarily the list of accolades or achievements or awards that students have received. And so, if you’re looking at the experience as being transactional in honesty. You’re missing some of the most important points is, you know, how am I growing? What’s the transformation? How am I changing? How am I evolving? You know? How am I discovering who I am? That’s why these things are so important.
And so I just want to encourage you not to not to look at it transactionally, but looking at it holistically, and where you are on the continuum of growth.
00:19:19 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Ryan Adam, maybe you have something to add to this. I’m sure that you both were very accomplished and had a nice list of achievements from high school, did you found, find that those lists of achievements and accomplishments helped you in your undergraduate career particularly, or was it something else? Oh, yeah, go ahead, Ryan.
00:19:41 Ryan Dwyer (Pioneer Academics): Yeah, in my opinion would be is like, the list of achievements are really more of what we’ve sort of been talking about of like sort of the holistic understanding of who you are as a person. Like I had a pretty substantial activities list but that’s just all because I just kept doing things that I wanted to do and in those scenarios choosing things of which I was genuinely passionate. That’s a lot more. Those were a lot more meaningful of an experience for me.
There were certainly some things that I did, having that paradigm as you’re going through high school of oh, I should probably do this thing because it would probably look better. On my, or it would probably look better on my application. There are certainly a couple of things that I did like that, and I didn’t get and it really is something where you don’t really want to be there.
You don’t get a lot out of it, because you’re kind of closing yourself off to it. And so, yeah, I would say that your activity list can be a good representation of the things that you did. But ultimately, that’s really more telling you the story of you as a person, and the story that you want the college admissions officer to be reading into you, and not like the forefront per se of who you are.
00:20:54 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Audience. I do want to encourage you. If you have questions for Mike or Adam or Ryan, please do put them in the QA, and I’ll do my best to get to them. There is one here that I that relates to something that you had said earlier, Mike.
Guadalupe is asking about Co-Curriculars that involve service and helping other people, and whether admissions officers value these sorts of things more than co curriculars, that you might just be genuinely interested in or enjoy more like Chess Club, for example. And I, I feel like this might go back to the point you were making about institutional values and how these play a role? And maybe how can students think about or explore institutional values as they’re making decisions.
00:21:42 Mike Steidel: Yeah, I love this question. And I think it’s an important one. Because the opportunity to help others in your community by serving ends up being such a transformational experience. Not just while you’re in secondary school, but I still have these kinds of transitional or transformational experiences. When I do, you know, participate in a community service experience, you end up helping someone else and in turn learning so much about yourself. It’s such a rewarding experience that I would encourage everyone when possible, you know, to have that kind of an experience. It truly it truly is transformational. And I, I do think that ultimately making the world a better place while that sounds, you know, very idealistic.
But in reality it’s one person at a time. One step at a time, and what you learn by doing that and participating in those kinds of experiences, whether it’s things like, you know, organized like habitat for humanity, or working in a food bank or just volunteering, you know. whenever the experience comes. I think that doing good and helping others is such a meaningful experience, and ultimately can open your eyes to you know the wonderful things that you know humanity brings in terms of, you know, person helping person.
And I find it to be a really valuable experience. And I know that people that have had those kinds of experiences, you know, just marvel at what they learn. And so, if you haven’t had that opportunity yet, it’s easy to get, you know. Need is everywhere. Doesn’t have to be meeting it financially. It can certainly mean, you know, donating an hour or 2 of your time in any way. Where, where need arises. And so I would definitely encourage you know, community involvement, for sure.
00:23:54 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Yeah, I like that. You say that the opportunity is everywhere for service. You don’t need to volunteer at a food kitchen or a soup kitchen to be doing service. You don’t need to go down to the animal shelter.
Most co-curricular pursuits that you enjoy will come with opportunities for service I feel like, and we have actually some great examples here in Adam and Ryan both of which have continued to volunteer their time at Pioneer after they finished the program. Helping out the next generation of pioneer scholars. And I wonder maybe Adam or Ryan could talk a little bit about that. And is that something that you expected when you signed up for Pioneer that you would continue to be involved with it for 5 or 6 years afterwards, in a capacity service, capacity.
00:24:50 Adam (Pioneer Academics): I’m not sure about Ryan, but I think for me it was kind of one step at a time. Initially I was brought in to kind of talk a little bit about how did I use Pioneer my college admissions? How did I especially cause I ended up going to the UK, which is a very, very different system than the US. Where you’re a lot more focused on one hyper specific thing having one specific narrative.
And then, you know, I got feedback from students. They would send me an email and say, Oh, you really helped me. I felt like, Oh, I helped somebody do this thing that I’d like to doing. And you know. Then I got the opportunity to be PCA. And I got to work with students, one on one, and it made me feel like I get to add my perspective to some of the things that they are doing. They also get to take perspectives from other students that are maybe in their cohort, or maybe have done the program before and get to add their perspective. And they get, you know, multiple people’s worth of wisdom.
Essentially for free. Because, you know, I’m there to guide them with this right and that always felt a feeling at the end, because you know, they send. You have the opportunity to court a video for your PCA and to have these people tell me about.
You know how I help them through the program, or how they were able to do that introspection as they were doing the going through the program, and were able to kind of change their attitude and get more out of it and really kind of reach the potential that you have in this program.
I think that was something that really kept drawing me back in and making me want to keep doing it and keep working with more students, because it felt like, you know, you are making this impact, and I think that goes with every like you said there are opportunities to do that kind of service, no matter what your activity is right, you know, if it ends up being more personal to you, that’s great, right that lets you spend more time and more effort into actually making the service. I think better.
00:26:36 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): You have something you want to add on this, too, Ryan.
00:26:39 Ryan Dwyer (Pioneer Academics): Yeah, I I’ll just, yeah. Oh, I I’ll agree with what I haven’t said. Like it. I didn’t apply to this 5 years ago, thinking, oh, you know what, when? 5 years I’m going to be coming back and volunteering. And it was very much again that one thing at a time where the Alumni Association here does a good job of keeping you in touch, and it’s like, Oh, well, you can do this thing, and you can help out and provide your feedback on how to improve the course. Or Oh, you can come back, and you can give your perspective for scholars going through the program, and my favorite part about the about the process for me is.
As Adam said, watching the scholars grow and watching them being receptive to the feedback. And it’s also a learning experience for me. We were talking about this just before the session. It really does feel like that. I get to learn something from the scholars, and I get to learn things from the professors. And so it’s a very. It’s a very interesting and rewarding 2 way street for me and for me it is very fulfilling, and I’m very glad to have been able to go through these opportunities.
00:27:37 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Once you start down that road of learning, it’s hard to turn back or find a destination.
Mike, I have another question here that, I think, is kind of interesting. So callum this. This, I think, is getting to this question about the checklist says, why do colleges still expect well rounded students who are good in music, sports, voluntary creative pursuits, etc. Isn’t that unrealistic pressure for students.
00:28:05 Mike Steidel: I actually think you’re right. It is unrealistic pressure. And to be honest with you, I having crafted many classes.
I would say that we’re looking for well-rounded student bodies, but not necessarily meaning that every student has to be well rounded. Some will be athletes. Some will be musicians, some will be artists, some will be, you know, academic high flyers, some will be, you know, community outreach folks, you know. I think that you know what we’re looking for are people that really are interested and engaged learners?
Who are looking for a transformational experience. And you know, really, ultimately, college is helping train people to be lifelong learners. How are you going to think? How are you going to learn? And how are you gonna create well beyond the graduation platform. And so I do think that that takes a community and we’ll best prepare students if the community is well rounded and very diverse. But quite frankly, we’re not expecting that every student is going to come with a well-rounded set of skills.
00:29:21 Mike Steidel: I think you’re gonna find when you go to college, that you’ll meet people who are very different than you are, with very different talents and abilities and backgrounds and ideals. And I think it’s the interaction that we have together in a community and learning how to navigate that is really most important. And so I would expect that you’re going to be challenged. But we’re not going to expect that you’re good in everything.
And so, and that includes the co-curricular realm as well.
00:29:59 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): We have another question here that relates back to this question about institutional values. So Bihar is wondering and I’m gonna ask Ryan and Adam about this as well, because they may have a different perspective. What are effective ways to learn about institutional values and priorities? Often it can feel like colleges present very similar message on tours and information sessions. And I know that feeling that it’s like the mission is the same. But they are very, very different places, having been enrolled at quite a few of them myself. So, Mike, what do you suggest first?
00:30:36 Mike Steidel: Well, there’s a couple of good answers, I think, for you. One is to talk to an experienced admission representative about, you know the values that they see transmitting down into the admission process. You know, I would say a first or second year admission Staffer may not necessarily be able to articulate that as well as someone who has, you know, sat through some board meetings and understand the strategic direction of the institution, and ultimately how some of those strategic priorities do filter down into the admission process. But
I think another way is, you know, to really kind of wander around on the institutional website and really get into the strategic areas of the of the institution. So oftentimes strategic plans are out there. And you know, you can start to really understand.
You know, a little bit of the direction and where an institution wants to go by reading their strategic plans. Sometimes it’s you know where they, you know invest. And that can be in research, it can be in athletics. It can be in, you know, a new you know, facility for the arts. And you know, when you start to see, you know and understand what’s important to an institution. It’s the. It’s the very fabric of what makes that institution unique.
00:32:14 Mike Steidel: And that often comes from talking with students as well as faculty. In addition to an experienced admission staffers. So read strategic you know, strategic plans. If you can get your hands on them, talk with students and faculty members and alums about their experiences and what they sense about. You know what the priorities strategic priorities of the institution are because I can guarantee you, they will filter down into the admission process.
00:32:51 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Ryan, How did you learn about the sort of institutional values of Cornell? Was it different? Once you got there? Was it kind of like a different learning process than what you expected as an applicant.
00:33:04 Ryan Dwyer (Pioneer Academics): Yeah. So I’ll touch on the student perspective, finding the or finding the values of the institution first for me, as Mike said, institutions actually make it pretty prominent on their website, if you like, just search for ex college mission statement beliefs, core values, they’ll pop up pretty they’ll be prop up pretty quickly.
Using Cornell as an example. We have a motto. I will found an institution where any person can pursue any study, and if you go on their website, there is a whole page dedicated to that, and how the university is committed to that going forward. And so when you go to, or when you get time to writing your essays, and you get time for writing the quote unquote. Why us essay?
It is my opinion that it’s very much a 2 way street of why you want to go to that institution. But then, also how you demonstrate some of those core values, and how you demonstrate some of those institutional values that that institution is looking for, that would allow them that would want them to accept you into it. And so I think that that would sort of help from that perspective. And then, as a student, once you get to the institution, you can see why you were admitted to that institution there are definitely sometimes in during the college admissions process, where it seems a little bit nebulous of how everything worked out but example for me in classics, I can tell that the interests and some of the values that the classics department here has were ones that I explicated in my application. And so it once you sort of understand what those values are, and if you feel that you’re in alignment of what with what those values are. I think that that’s something good to look for, because that is something that universities do way heavily when they’re selecting applicants.
00:34:54 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): Great. Alright, thanks, Ryan. I think we’re going to have to wrap up this panel, but it has been really nice getting all of your perspectives on Co-curricular activities, how to think about them, how they will affect your time in college and for the rest of your life as a lifelong learner, as well as to hear about how admissions officers think about them.
So I hope our audience has really enjoyed this, and I do want to say thank you to Mike. Thank you to Adam, and thank you to Ryan. We, this panel is the closing panel of the Pioneer Academics Co-Curricular Summit. It has been a great day of events. I hope you all have learned a lot one of the things that I enjoy most about working for pioneer is that they really legitimately are a value driven organization, and they take their social mission very seriously. And this summit is a great example of it.
It is difficult for parents and high school students to sort out what the right and healthy information is about co-curricular activities, what organizations are legitimate and can actually help them discover their genuine interests. And so I hope that our panels today you learned a lot, and that you had an opportunity to visit multiple excellent programs at the program fair and visit with college admissions officers at the college fair. So thank you to all the panelists and everyone who participated today.
00:36:23 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): And thank you for being a great audience as well. You can stick around panelists. You don’t need to stick around, but I will be announcing shortly the winners of our leaderboard competition. As soon as I I’ll be getting those names here shortly, and I will share them with you. Oh, here they are! Just a moment. I’ll read them off. Thank you, Mike.
Okay, so winners of our competition at the top of the leaderboard. We’re going to list off the top 10 names.
00:37:00 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): In 10th we have Fourchon Softr now
In 9th Hannah Reggae in 8th Yarin Yenni
In 7th Hassan, Mahmood in 6th Elijah Aristide.
00:37:16 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): 5th Lu Young Li
4th Shafaq Bent Yousov
3rd Abdel Rahman Aldeep
2nd Sophia Gia.
00:37:27 Ryan (Pioneer Academics): And in first Aidan Lee Chan. So excellent work to our top, 10 at the top of our leaderboard. I think you will all be receiving a copy of Dr. Wagner’s book, as well as a $30 gift certificate. So keep an eye out for a message about that.
So once again, thank you to all our panelists, for from today all of our program officers and college admissions, officers who participate in our program here in our college fair and thank you for being a great audience.
Sign up to receive alerts for upcoming deadlines and other opportunities for high-achieving students.
Thank you for your interest in Pioneer’s Global Problem-Solving Institute (GPSI). The application for the Fall 2025 terms is now available. Please select your country/region below:
